In this case, if a man were

the perpetrator, he would have been prosecuted to the fullest extent,

complete with jail time, and a humiliatingly detailed story and photo

on the front page of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Here, because of her gender,

Ms. Voyles was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser crime because the sex

was consensual.

There is no provision for this

if a male is charged. He is still guilty of statutory rape, because the

law says anyone under 18 is not able to make those kinds of decisions.

I submit that this is both

unconstitutional and sexist, and so are the practices of the judge who

presided over this case. Note that the story was neatly tucked into a

not-so-visible corner in the papers. If it were a man, it would have been

front-page news, and the public would have been screaming for vengeance

and protection for their children.

In a land where a man can face

a sexual harassment suit for merely asking a female coworker his own age

out on a date, I find it infuriating that the law has once again allowed

a woman to use her body as a bargaining tool.

Matthew White

Athens, Ga.

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